Big League Softball World Series players deserves three cheers - or more (Editorial)

Gazette file photoGrand Rapids District 9's Morgan Groom delivers a pitch during the 2011 Big League Softball World Series championship game against Manila, Philippines.

Nine teams of young athletes are invading Kalamazoo for the 2012 Big League Softball World Series this week.

They are bringing with them bats and balls, coaches and water bottles. They will come will a full complement of confidence and courages, gumption and skill. What they require from Kalamazoo is an audience willing to cheer on every at bat and great play they can muster.

This year the tournament will see nine teams, six from the United States and three representing Canada, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Returning this year will be the District 9 team, which is based in Grand Rapids, and which has won the title three of the past four years.

Kalamazoo fans have always turned out in droves to support the athletes, but with changes to this year's week-long tournament, some are worried that the cheering sections might thin out.

For years, when the athletes came to Kalamazoo players and coaches were housed by host families, who would take the teams under their wings and ensure a comforting and caring connection to Kalamazoo.This year all players are required to stay at a local hotel. It is a change that all tournaments have undergone as a way to reduce liability for organizers. Kalamazoo was the last World Series location to use host families.

One of the worries is that by eliminating the host family system, the tournament will see a reduction in crowds who come to cheer the teams. That would be a shame. These young players have dedicated their time and energy to mastering their sports — not unlike the world class athletes now competing on the Olympic stage. And, like that event, the great power of the competition is not just the crowning of a victor, but the energy of a community that emerges to cheer the excellence and effort displayed in every game.

The tournament begins with opening ceremonies at 4 p.m. Wednesday, with the first game between the local District 2 and the East beginning at 6 p.m. The championship game, which will be televised live on ESPN2, will be at 4 p.m. Aug. 8. Admission and parking at Vanderberg Park is free.

We can still show these young players that Kalamazoo is more than the ball fields where they will be playing: It is a place that makes every player feel like a champion.